Rico's Nightmare
by ShortGirlWithAPen
Summary: Rico has a nightmare and Kowalski comforts him. No slash, just friendship.


**Disclaimer- I don't own the Penguins of Madagascar or any of its characters!**

* * *

_He closes his eyes as the zookeeper picks him up by his neck. Little did he know that this would later effect his ability to speak. He doesn't go without a fight, which fails on his part, resulting in a scratch on the side of his face and partly on his beak that was sure to scar. He vaguely realizes that this would be easier if he had a group to help him fight. Or at least knowing how to defend himself properly. But a group that he could fully trust was something he could only dream of happening._

_"Now, you won't even think of resisting again, will you?" the zookeeper says, an evil smile forming across his face. Rico stops at the tone of his voice. "Of course you won't. Don't want to hurt anyone you're close to, do you?"_

_By then, Rico is as still as a statue. He doesn't want anyone to get hurt. He's seen the way that other animals come back when they've had to deal with this zookeeper- and that was when they were lucky. Many of them had several scratches and scrapes. You could tell by just looking into their eyes that something terrible must have happened. That something worse could happen at any moment._

_Two months later, Rico was in the Central Park Zoo. He had gotten used to the daily routine of training. It was one of the few things that never changed._

_Members would leave, or die, and occasionally one would join._

_He knew things wouldn't change for a while when Private joined. He was barely hatched when he was transported. This made Private the youngest member and Rico the second youngest. He had gotten used to the routine faster than they had thought he would. Maybe it was because he liked it, or maybe it was because he was so young and didn't know anything else, but it was treated like it was the most normal thing for a penguin to do._

_Even with all the villains that they faced, Rico decided that humans- especially zookeepers- were the worst of them all. They shouldn't have been able to be trusted with anything at all. They were absolutely evil._

* * *

"Rico, wake up!" Kowalski says in a hushed whisper. "Wake up, you're having a nightmare."

Rico wakes up, his blue eyes focusing on Kowalski after a moment.

"Want to tell me about it?"

Rico shakes his head, trying to resist the urge to hug Kowalski tight and admit that this was one of the rare moments when he needed comfort. He was just so _tired_ and surprisingly lonely.

"You know, nightmares translate your own fear into your dreams."

Fear. A major misunderstanding of what was really going on in Rico's mind. He was terrified, which proved Kowalski's point.

A warm and comforting sensation wraps around Rico. It took a moment for him to realize that Kowalski was hugging him. "Please tell me what's going on."

_"Humans."_ Rico whispers hoarsely, which was normal for him.

"We don't like them, either. You're not so alone."

_"My family's gone.."_

"We'll be your family now."

Rico can't help but close his eyes and rest his head on where Kowalski's shoulder would be. _"I'm so lonely.."_

"Everyone gets lonely; that's normal."

_"I don't belong."_

"Why do you doubt yourself? You really shouldn't." Rico shakes his head, not wanting to talk anymore. Kowalski continues after a moment. "Fine, if you won't talk anymore, at least go back to sleep. You look tired."

Kowalski moves to go to his bunk before Rico stops him. _"Please stay."_

"You know I can't, Rico. You know where I'll be. Just go back to sleep."

Rico finally agrees and falls asleep moments later.

* * *

The next morning was one of the rare days when Skipper wakes up late, which lets Kowalski, Private, and Rico sleep in for once. In fact, they're able to sleep until Marlene walks in.

"Hey, guys, what's up?" she asks.

Skipper snaps awake and hits his head on the brick above his head. He rubs the spot on the back of his head, that was sure to form a bump later on. "How did she get in here?"

"The door was open." Marlene says quickly.

"What time is it?"

"Seven thirty."

"Get up, soldiers, time to wake up."

One by one, Kowalski, Rico, and Private climb down and form in their own little group for a few minutes, as they knew that Skipper would want to talk to Marlene for a while.

"Rico, you okay?" Kowalski whispers.

_"Yeah, I'm fine." _

Kowalski smiles when he notices that there's a hint of a smile on Rico's face. With him looking so scared the night before, it was good to see him so relaxed and normal- as normal as Rico could get, anyway.

As soon as Kowalski thought this, he couldn't help but correct himself. Rico wasn't crazy. It was just that people hardly ever took the time to really get to know him. If they saw what he, Private, and Skipper saw, they wouldn't see a crazy penguin. They would see a penguin with the skills to know what tool they would need in a particular situation and manage to get it to them who had an amazing sense of humor.

The End


End file.
